Get Up and Fight
by Inareskai
Summary: Chat's thoughts after taking a hit for Ladybug and being (temporarily) paralysed. One shot song fic based on the new Muse song 'Get Up and Fight' which just fit LadyNoir so perfectly I needed to make it. Not too heavily based on the actual lyrics, but some are included. Cross posted on AO3. A gift for tumblr user miraculousladyb, go check her out because she's awesome.


***This has been edited to remove the actual song lyrics as it turns out those aren't allowed, keep that in mind if you want to write any song-related stuff! The song is easy to find and listen to and it's really LadyNoir so I recommend!***

The fight had been going on for what felt like hours, though it had likely only been about forty minutes. This akuma victim was vicious, they weren't completely sure of the circumstances that caused them to be Hawkmoth's target, but it was something to do with how under-appreciated scorpions are as pets. Chat hoped that once the person had been saved they reconsidered that line of advocacy…

Chat saw the stinger before Ladybug did, it flew directly at her chest and they both knew there was no way she could dodge in time. Every instinct in Chat's body screamed to protect her, keep her from harm at all costs, even if that cost was him. In the back of his mind he knew she would disagree with him, tell him that she always needed him next to her more than she needed him to take risks, but he couldn't help himself when it came to her safety.

He felt the sting hit is chest, piecing his suit and injecting the icy paralysing liquid into his veins. It didn't just stop him from moving, it also dulled his thoughts and he felt lethargic, like he could stay down forever. All he could do was smile that it hadn't hit his Lady. His body hit the floor and he saw her frown at his pain before realising it was basically all on her now. She rushed to follow the _Stinger_ (urgh, get more creative people), she spared a small affectionate glance back at him, a thank you even if she didn't understand his need to endanger himself.

In an ideal world, she'd finish up this fight in maybe another 5 minutes, 15 tops. He wasn't sure how long the paralysis would last but he was confident that her Lucky Charm would fix it. Another hour later and it seemed the end was nowhere in sight, at best she'd managed to keep the akuma away from him and his Miraculous, but she was getting tired he could tell from her come backs and reaction speeds.

He needed to shake off this paralysis and the heavy exhaustion that waved over him. Somehow, he suspected Plagg's influence, he knew that he could throw it off, he just needed the motivation.

* * *

His life had improved so much in the past year and a half. He knew that being Chat was only part of that improvement. He had friends now, close ones. But fundamentally he knew his life had changed for the better because of her. Ladybug. Marinette.

She'd loved him when he thought no one ever would again. Listening patiently to his problems when he wanted to talk and finding endless fun activities for when all he wanted was to forget about his life. Their friendship, slowly blossoming into more than that now they could finally spend time together as heroes and civilians, was worth more to him than all the money his father's fashion empire. He would make it to her.

He could feel his fingers begin to twitch. He needed to get up.

* * *

The longer they knew each other, the more he had time to look at himself through her eyes. See the admiration and affection he'd long stopped believing he deserved. He knew that one day, probably soon, he'd have to start dealing with some hard truths about Hawkmoth, about his mother and Nathalie. About how he felt about himself and how those feelings needed someone professional to talk through and manage.

He'd be open with her, when the time came. He'd be honest about any medications and his feelings, and the support he needed from her. He knew already that she'd stand by him even when things were tough and that she wouldn't take any of his self-pity. He didn't demand that she stay and he wasn't going to force her if things got too hard, but he knew she loved him as much as he loved her. They'd find a way to make it.

The soft numbness in his mind began to recede. He needed to fight.

* * *

It was hard sometimes, being so famous and so invisible at the same time. This was true for him both as Adrien and as Chat. He worked so hard every day to be perfect and not let the cracks show. He could hear the cheering crowds, unwittingly placing so much pressure onto his shoulders, it was sometimes more than he could handle. People talked about how brave and powerful he was, when often he didn't feel like either of those things. He felt like he was barely keeping a float, making it from day to day, he couldn't let them know he wasn't coping.

* * *

With Marinette, and Nino, and Alya, and even Chloe when she knew no one else would see her kindness, he had moments to be fully himself. Laugh until he snorted with Alya as Nino tried (and failed) to take on Nora at a thumb-war, or giggling at Marinette's expense when she forgot to take the plastic off her bath bomb before throwing it in and taking longer than she should have to work out her mistake. Or having quiet moments, with Mari or Nino usually, where his walls came down and he could rant for as long as he wanted or just have a cry about how life was unfair sometimes.

They built him up so that he could be the person he wanted to be, and he wasn't going to fail any of them now.

He gasped. Full movement returned to him in a rush and he rolled over, leaning on his arms and stretching. His muscles ached from being held in one position.

A shadow appeared over him. He braced. Looked up.

A tired Ladybug grinned down at him. She was ragged, her hair coming loose from their bunches and a smear of dirt across her face. Still she exuded confidence and he realised it was for him. She may not have known he'd shake off the fog in his mind and come back to her, but she did know he would try his hardest to never let her be alone, and she loved him all the more for it.

'Hello Chaton, time to get up and fight. I can't do this without you.'


End file.
